Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA Assistant Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine Palo Alto, CA 94304

19 Nov Over 50% of COVID-19 Hospitalizations Are Black and Hispanic

Posted at 00:29h in AHA Journals, Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Stanford by

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA Assistant Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine Palo Alto, CA 94304

Dr. Rodriguez

Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA
Assistant Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Palo Alto, CA 94304

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified existing racial/ethnic disparities in the United States. The goal of this study was to leverage new data collected from the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry to understand racial/ethnic differences in presentation and outcomes for hospitalized patients.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response:Our work identified several important findings:

  • Black and Hispanic patients accounted for over 50% of the COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.
  • Black and Hispanic patients were substantially younger than White patients at the time of hospitalization and faced more adverse socioeconomic circumstances. Black patients had a higher burden of cardiovascular risk factors including obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease.
  • Mortality rates were high at approximately 18% during our study period, but cardiovascular complications occurred less frequently than initially feared.
  • After adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical, and presentation features, mortality and major adverse cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events did not differ by race/ethnicity for hospitalized patients.
  • Asian patients had the highest cardiorespiratory disease severity at presentation.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

  • Black and Hispanic patients bore a greater burden of mortality and morbidity due to their disproportionate representation among COVID-19 hospitalizations.
  • Interventions to reduce disparities in COVID-19 should focus upstream from hospitalizations by preventing infections in the first place.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response:  Our work suggests that more research needs to be done on interventions that prevent COVID-19 hospitalizations across vulnerable communities.  

Any disclosures?   This study was funded by the American Heart Association.

Citation:

Fatima Rodriguez, Nicole Solomon, James A. de Lemos, Sandeep R. Das, David A. Morrow, Steven M. Bradley, Mitchell S.V. Elkind, Joseph H. Williams, IV, DaJuanicia Holmes, Roland A. Matsouaka, Divya Gupta, Ty J. Gluckman, Marwah Abdalla, Michelle A. Albert, Clyde W. Yancy, Tracy Y. Wang.Racial and Ethnic Differences in Presentation and Outcomes for Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: Findings from the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry. Circulation, 2020; DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.052278

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Last Updated on November 19, 2020 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

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